Ayai funny as it is provocative
Ayai is an old and intricate form of Khmer traditional art that combines poetry, singing, and music all rolled into one. It is an art for everyone. Generally comedic in nature, it is equally enjoyed by farmers and businessmen as it is performed with the same zest on the lavished stages of the Cambodian Television Network or pagodas of the provinces.
In one of its most popular versions, a man and a woman stand on a stage and exchange a string of clever (at times naughty) sentences, pausing to give way to the mesmerizing, high-pitched sound of an ensemble of traditional Khmer instruments. Those witty sentences are masterfully constructed impromptu to fit a traditional form of poetry, the gom nab peak pram pi, or the seven-syllable metre.
In the gom nab peak pram pi, each paragraph consists of four sentences, which, in turn, are made up of seven syllables or phonetic units. The last syllable of the first sentence rhyme with the fourth syllable of the second. The last syllable of the second sentence rhymes with the last one of the third, which in exchange, also rhyme with the fourth phonetic unit of the last sentence. This highly complex form of poetry is mastered by Ayai performers, who so effortless go on stage and improvise the difficult verses in performances that are, incredibly, fully ad-libbed.
According to Ayai experts, to become a performer of this intricate art form one needs talent and hard-work in equal measures. An innate knack for words and poetry is paramount, but so is the discipline to train on a daily basis with a partner to keep one's brain agile and quick. Ayai performers need to keep abreast of the latest economic, social and political developments in the country and the world, as they need to be able to entertain audiences with timely, provocative and informative verses.
There are two types of performances: the Ayai Roeung, or story, performed solo, and the Ayai Chlaoy Chlorng, which takes the form of a jocose conversation between two people, normally a man and a woman. Verses in both versions of the art form are full of double entendres, sometimes with sexual connotations. Both types of Ayai feature enthralling musical breaks between the verses.
A performance starts with a Nekmasaka or initial prayer, in which the performer pays respect to God and to the Ayai masters (kruu bashiay) that have preceded them. The next step in the Ayai Chlauy Chlorng - the version that takes the form of a dialogue - involves the performer thanking the audience and beckoning his partner to come to stage, usually by referring to her by a funny moniker such as "widow" or "sister". This phase of the performance is known as Born Pe Klay. What follows is a conversation between both performers: an ingenious exchange on a light-hearted topic. Sometimes, the dialogue picks up the pace and turns into a heated battle of words, known in Khmer as as tok sei, with short sentences being thrown at the other performer with rapid-fire delivery. To break the pace or change the environment, a short intermission sometimes occurs that is known as ruan sai yuu, in which the orchestra music takes over and the performers go quiet for a moment and focus on dancing. This third stage is known as Kern Chaww.
After Kern Chaww the female performer usually raises a more formal or serious topic, such as an old Khmer proverb, and the man responds, thus initiating another conversation. This new dialogue, with a more serious overtone, is part of the next stage, known as Della. Each one of these four phases - the Nekmasaka, the Born Pe Klay, the Kern Chaww and the Della - is set to a different music, and while the transition is easily recognizable to experts of the art form, the less savvy will have a hard time telling one stage from the next. Once the Della is finished, the show comes to an end with a new melody, generally upbeat in nature, that is sometimes referred to as a "goodbye song".
A modern Ayai orchestra is made up of experienced musicians playing, generally, six different instruments: the tro sau (a two-string vertical fiddle), the khem (a stringed instrument similar to a dulcimer, played with two small mallets), the takhe (a crocodile-shaped fretted floor zither with three strings), the skor dai (a small drum made out of snakeskin), the chhing (finger cymbals), and the khloy (a type of bamboo flute). Shows such as the ones usually staged in the provinces, use only four instruments, generally disposing of the chhing and the khloy.
If you are interested to catch this charismatic and complex Khmer art form, turn on your TV to Apsara Television, CTN or Bayon Television, which all broadcast Ayai shows with some regularity. Should you visit the provinces, remember that monks love Ayai, and Ayai performances are not uncommon in celebrations held at pagodas.
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